Hands Held High
by FavouriteNightmare
Summary: Going into war at the mere age of 19, that was an accomplishment in itself, but to come back out unscathed, well, that would be a miracle. AU, yaoi, death, well it's a war ain't it? GrimmIchi and maybe some others.


**Hands Held High**

**Pairings:** Currently, none. Some RenIchi if you squint, but not really.

**Warnings**: So far, nothing, one death but nothing bad.

Prologue

"_I don't give a shit who you are, what your life history is or whatever fucking else you may wanna tell me..."_

Silence was all one needed in this situation. Knelt down, clutching the wire clippers tightly, knuckles turning white from the pressure and fingers twitching in nervousness. All around, beyond the thick and heavy suit, people watched, civilians watched, children watched, the unforgiving sun beating down on them all. One false move was all it took, one false move or some sick, twisted being to trigger the explosive down before him.

It was a bad idea; they all knew it was bad idea. What idiot sent a newbie into a real life situation knowing it was basically suicide?

"Shit! Kid get outta there!"

The voice just about screamed into his headset, the sharp ticking of the timer ringing out like the very voice of death itself. Widened eyes flickered to the red digits, time seeming to slow at those last, few seconds. Before the chance to turn tail and run even arrived, screams could be heard across the desolate village and that was the last thing he heard before the explosion set off. The apparent 'bomb-proof' suit only protecting the lost life from the explosion itself, the blowback however, the suit could offer no protection against.

They had been too late, all of them.

--

"Not too far now..."

Shit, too say he was nervous was an understatement. Going into war at the mere age of 19, that was an accomplishment in itself, but to come back out unscathed, well, that would be a miracle. Brown orbs scanned those that surrounded him, there were hardly any other new recruits; the majority were all returning to complete another however-long period of service. All of them ranged from their twenties to forties, some tall whilst others short, small skinny while others were well built, but despite how different each individual may be, each and every single one dreading was what to come. Just the thought of never making it out alive, never seeing their families again, and just those thoughts could make the bravest of men shake in their boots.

Feeling someone gently nudge him, the youth turned his gaze upon the man seated next to him. Tattoos adorned the majority of his face and with the looks of things probably the most of his body too.

"Name's Abarai Renji, trust me kid, you're gonna need all the friends you can get here. Take it from an underdog," spoke the red head, extending a hand for the teen to take, in which he did take and shook with a firm grasp. The said underdog allowed a small smile to grace his lips before parting them in speech once more. "I'm in the sixth battalion; most of the people in here are too, so the chances are that you will be. A word of advice about the Lieutenant Colonel though, he has high expectations, very high, so don't let him push you too hard..." The other explained and with a small nod of understanding, the orange-haired youth gave a somewhat nervous frown, before fixating his gaze onto the floor.

"I'm Kurosaki Ichigo..." He replied silently, "Thanks for the info'." And following that, the nervous Kurosaki remained silent. His mind circling over what was to come in the war ahead, he didn't want to make friends; the chances were that'd he only lose them in what was to come, making friends would only cause unwanted pain and distress. But, it was always nice to know someone was watching your back, and even though there was the chance of losing a friend, well, if they all worked together, the chances of them escaping would increase and even if it only increased it by a small amount, well, in a life or death situation that could make all the difference.

--

Soon enough the vehicle slowed to a halt, the back door sliding open and allowing light to pour in and blind the many recruits that were seated in there. Raising a hand above his eyes to shield the onslaught of the sun, the youth stepped out into the base grounds, followed by the countless others.

"Well well, looks like the ladies are back!" Came an all too familiar voice to many, some feared it, some respected it and other's just couldn't give crap.

"Be nice Lieutenant; there's some fresh meat this time around." Came another voice, this one low and monotonous.

"Che' whatever... Line up!" The booming voice of said Lieutenant ordered, all the soldiers lining up obediently. The Lieutenant gave a small smirk; well at least they were intelligent enough not to ignore him. "I don't give a shit who you are, what your life history is or whatever fucking else you may wanna tell me. All you need to know is that they're gonna fight us and we're gonna fight them, but we're gonna fucking win! So long as you follow orders, act smart and get the fuck on with it! Questions, no? Good, head into the base and you'll be directed to where you'll be spending your time here," informed the azure haired Lieutenant; folding his arms firmly across a strong chest, eyes that took the same azure shade fixing firmly onto the lieutenant colonel.

"Lieutenant Jeagerjaques, I must be the one to tell you that tomorrow you'll be taking a few of the soldiers out onto the field. It's up to you who you're taking out but I strongly suggest you take a new recruit; it's not a dangerous mission so it would be good experience for them, that's as long as you don't get them killed like the last one, is that clear..?"

"Crystal clear _sir_..."

--

"Ichigo!" Renji called, snapping the youth from his stupor, Ichigo's gaze fixating onto the red head that had burst into his shack-like room. "Since we're practically neighbours I'll wake you up tomorrow. Lieutenant wants us up real early 'cause we're going out onto the field."

"Already?!" Ichigo replied with a voice laced with shock, a tinge of fear showing through in his tone.

"Mhm, don't worry about it though. It'll only be a minor thing like evacuating a village or disarming a bomb," the red head attempted to soothe with an idiotic grin on his face. It didn't surprise him that the newbie was scared, heck, he was scared when he had been told he was going out onto the field, everyone was on their first time; you'd have to be a complete idiot not to be scared.

"Disarming a bomb..?" Ichigo failed to see how that was only a minor job; in any logical situation bombs equalled explosions which equalled casualties and death, which was not a minor thing! "Who else is going?"

"No idea, all I know is that's there's five of us going including the lieutenant!"

--


End file.
